Vintage 1941 - 49 Penn RR Sign - TO CHICAGO THE ADMIRAL No 71 LV 947 P. M. No PHILA
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:896332 | Modified Item: No |
| Year: 1941 | Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
This Vintage 1941-49 Pennsylvania Railroad Departure Sign is in outstanding condition, clean and complete as shown, with scuffs and wear from age and use. It has no cracks or chips. This is a two toned Plexiglass Sign, routed out to read: TO CHICAGO THE ADMIRAL No 71 LV 947 P.M. No PHILA. Made in the USA.
Fun Facts
Pennsylvania’s Admiral, 1941-c1949
Fred Klein, 2010, 2016ThePennsylvania railroad was the largest in the US by revenue and traffic, andcalled itself t...he standard railroad of the world. The Admiral was one of itssecond tier trains in the New York to Chicago run, behind the exclusiveBroadway Limited. The eastbound Admiral (train # 70) started on April 27, 1941but the westbound (train # 71) waited until April 26, 1942. The PennsylvaniaRailroad started this new train in 1941 because of the high demands of wartimetraffic. The name Admiral was chosenas a counterpoint to the General, asimilar second tier train that made the Chicago to New York run starting 3years earlier. The Admiral left New York at 9 in the evening and arrived beforelunch the next day, hence a need for mostly sleeper cars. Admiral’s sleepercars were owned and operated by the Pullman Company until Pullmans’ divestiturein 1948 forced railroads to buy the cars and lease them back to Pullman, whocontinued to staff and operate them. After 1948, the large name the letterboard of the cars began to change from “Pullman” to“Pennsylvania”. Unlike the Broadway Limited, the Admiral carried coaches formost of its life. It made only a few stops until it was downgraded to a localin 1956.
Secondstring trains like the Admiral retained many heavyweight cars in the 40s and 50sin addition to newer lightweight cars that gradually replaced them. At the time of theAdmirals’ founding in 1941, the conversion of the “blue ribbon fleet” of carsfrom older, plain heavyweight cars of the 1920s to lightweight cars painted(starting in 1938) in the two-tone pinstripe “fleet of moderninsm”scheme designed by Richard Loewy was in full swing. Many heavyweight cars weregradually repainted in the Loewy FOM scheme, but leightweightcars delivered after 1938 were all in the Loewy scheme. After the war, startingin 1948, cars were gradually repainted in a simpler scheme of one shade ofTuscan red with three yellow pinstripes. The Admiral in the early to mid 40swould be a mixture of plain Tuscan red and Loewy FOM schemes, with modernpost-war solid Tuscan with stripes appearing in the late 40s. The common 12section-1 drawing room heavyweight Pullman initially appeared in solid Tuscanpaint in the 1920s, many were repainted in the FOM scheme in the early 1940s, and repainted again in solid Tuscan with three yellow pinstripes after 1948.When the California Zephyr started service from Chicago to San Francisco in1948, an additional CZ sleeper was often in the Admiral for transcontinentalruns to New York. The Admiral generally retained its sleeping cars along theroute from New York to Chicago, but baggage cars were often switched in and outat Harrisburg during the engine change. Electrificationof the PRR from New York to Washington and from Philadelphia west to Harrisburgwas completed in 1938. The Admirals’ power during this time would have been theGG1 electric locomotive east of Harrisburg and a K4 Pacific 4-6-2 west ofHarrisburg. Some of the K4 Pacifics were givenstreamlined shrouds. When trains were too long for the Pacific to handle, a 4-4-4-4sharknose duplex locomotive was used.
Fun Facts
Pennsylvania’s Admiral, 1941-c1949
Fred Klein, 2010, 2016ThePennsylvania railroad was the largest in the US by revenue and traffic, andcalled itself t...he standard railroad of the world. The Admiral was one of itssecond tier trains in the New York to Chicago run, behind the exclusiveBroadway Limited. The eastbound Admiral (train # 70) started on April 27, 1941but the westbound (train # 71) waited until April 26, 1942. The PennsylvaniaRailroad started this new train in 1941 because of the high demands of wartimetraffic. The name Admiral was chosenas a counterpoint to the General, asimilar second tier train that made the Chicago to New York run starting 3years earlier. The Admiral left New York at 9 in the evening and arrived beforelunch the next day, hence a need for mostly sleeper cars. Admiral’s sleepercars were owned and operated by the Pullman Company until Pullmans’ divestiturein 1948 forced railroads to buy the cars and lease them back to Pullman, whocontinued to staff and operate them. After 1948, the large name the letterboard of the cars began to change from “Pullman” to“Pennsylvania”. Unlike the Broadway Limited, the Admiral carried coaches formost of its life. It made only a few stops until it was downgraded to a localin 1956.
Secondstring trains like the Admiral retained many heavyweight cars in the 40s and 50sin addition to newer lightweight cars that gradually replaced them. At the time of theAdmirals’ founding in 1941, the conversion of the “blue ribbon fleet” of carsfrom older, plain heavyweight cars of the 1920s to lightweight cars painted(starting in 1938) in the two-tone pinstripe “fleet of moderninsm”scheme designed by Richard Loewy was in full swing. Many heavyweight cars weregradually repainted in the Loewy FOM scheme, but leightweightcars delivered after 1938 were all in the Loewy scheme. After the war, startingin 1948, cars were gradually repainted in a simpler scheme of one shade ofTuscan red with three yellow pinstripes. The Admiral in the early to mid 40swould be a mixture of plain Tuscan red and Loewy FOM schemes, with modernpost-war solid Tuscan with stripes appearing in the late 40s. The common 12section-1 drawing room heavyweight Pullman initially appeared in solid Tuscanpaint in the 1920s, many were repainted in the FOM scheme in the early 1940s, and repainted again in solid Tuscan with three yellow pinstripes after 1948.When the California Zephyr started service from Chicago to San Francisco in1948, an additional CZ sleeper was often in the Admiral for transcontinentalruns to New York. The Admiral generally retained its sleeping cars along theroute from New York to Chicago, but baggage cars were often switched in and outat Harrisburg during the engine change. Electrificationof the PRR from New York to Washington and from Philadelphia west to Harrisburgwas completed in 1938. The Admirals’ power during this time would have been theGG1 electric locomotive east of Harrisburg and a K4 Pacific 4-6-2 west ofHarrisburg. Some of the K4 Pacifics were givenstreamlined shrouds. When trains were too long for the Pacific to handle, a 4-4-4-4sharknose duplex locomotive was used.
